Allen Seeking Favor From U.s. Chamber Of Commerce

Capitol Notebook

October 31, 1999|By DAVID LERMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — In his four years as governor, Republican George F. Allen loved to bash Washington. The nation's capital, he often said, was a land of federal "nannies" who meddle too much in state government.

But last week, Allen happily crossed the Potomac River to befriend some key corporate lobbyists and money men who could prove to be immense help in his quest for a U.S. Senate seat next year.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobby, is searching for promising pro-business candidates who could win House and Senate seats in the pivotal 2000 election. And Allen means to be one of them.

That is why the folksy ex-governor, clad in his signature black cowboy boots, lunched with chamber members at the GOP's Capitol Hill Club, just one block from the Capitol.

An endorsement from the chamber, with its 3 million members, would mean more than just another pat on the hat from conservative activists.

The chamber, hoping to counter the electoral muscle of organized labor, launched a $5 million campaign last week to influence nearly 50 close congressional races. The group has promised to spend at least $100,000 in each contest.

"We're going to focus our assets narrowly for the maximum impact," Chamber President Thomas J. Donohue said in a statement. "In these key races, we plan to give money directly and raise more money through our members."

The Virginia Senate race between Allen and Democratic incumbent Charles S. Robb, already among the most competitive and closely watched in the country, is likely to be one of the targets.

Although chamber officials stopped short of any endorsement last week, they made clear their strong interest in Allen.

"He is a pro-business advocate," said Lonnie Taylor, the chamber's top lobbyist. "We are very interested in this race, and we're very interested in Gov. Allen."

For his part, Allen was not about to disappoint. In a brief address to more than 50 lobbyists and business executives, he offered up enough red meat to satisfy most conservatives.

He praised Virginia's "right-to-work" laws, which prohibit making union membership a condition of employment. He took credit for reforms that measure the impact of new regulations on "people and jobs, not just on woodpeckers."

And he railed against the so-called "death tax," a tax on estates that is paid by the relatively wealthy.

"To me, there should not be taxation without respiration," Allen said.

Under normal circumstances, casting Robb as "anti-business" would not be a simple task.

For the past two years, Robb's voting record on business issues proved worthy enough to earn the chamber's "Spirit of Enterprise" award.

"Sen. Robb has consistently voted to support American business, the engine of our remarkable economic prosperity," Donohue said in 1998.

But Allen's courtship of the chamber comes at an awkward time for Robb, a moderate who has tried to balance the interests of labor and management.

Robb briefly cut off relations with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this spring after an ugly spat over a bill limiting lawsuits that could arise from the Year 2000 computer bug.

The chamber, in a news release, had declared Robb "missing in action" because of his alleged unwillingness to support the bill, a key priority of business lobbies this year.

Robb, a retired Marine who served in Vietnam, was miffed by the charge and said he was trying to negotiate a compromise between competing versions of the legislation.

Robb aides said the senator would talk only with the Virginia chamber, not the national office.

Allen, in his speech, never mentioned Robb by name. But he won a round of applause after making an indirect jab at the controversy.

"If I'm given the honor of representing the people of Virginia in the United States Senate, the United States Chamber of Commerce and all of you are going to be welcome in my office," Allen said.

Robb's chief of staff, Tom Lehner, said last week the rift with the chamber has healed and relations have resumed.

"We agreed we'd get things back on track," Lehner said. "Their people have been in several times to talk about other issues."

Robb intends to give a similar talk to the chamber and hopes to win the group's endorsement, Lehner said.

But chamber officials appear ready to side with Allen. Despite Robb's strong business voting record last year, his cumulative record in the Senate is less than impressive, said Taylor, the chamber's lobbyist.

Since entering the Senate in 1989, Robb has supported chamber positions only 45 percent of the time, according to a chamber scorecard.

"It's not a passing grade," Taylor said.

Among votes that cost Robb last year were his support for increasing the minimum wage and for a so-called "patients' bill of rights" that would offer patients new protections in managed-care plans.